Reel World

Deadline Looms!

This Friday, April 3, is the deadline to get your locally made films (shorts or features) in to the 2009 New Mexico Filmmakers Showcase. The four-day event (May 14 through 17) is sponsored by the State Film Office and gives up-and-coming New Mexico film and video artists a chance to show off their work. This is a first-come, first-served “open sheet”-style screening. Organizers will accept a total of 30 hours’ worth of programming, and space is filling up quick. If you’ve got something you’d like to show off and haven’t submitted it yet, get on over to Guild Cinema in Nob Hill (3405 Central NE) and drop off your DVD! For more information, log on to nmfilm.com.

Write On, Sisters!

The New Mexico Women in Film Writers' Group is sponsoring its annual Athena Award Screenwriting Competition. The contest is open to all New Mexico residents. Submitted screenplays must have a female protagonist and/or female theme and must not exceed five pages. Postmark deadline is April 15. The contest will be judged blind by a panel of top industry professionals, including Kirk Ellis (Emmy Award winner for the John Adams miniseries). The award will be presented in May at an event during which the top three pieces will be read by professional actors. Application forms may be downloaded at nmwif.com.

RomCom Comes to the Land of Enchantment

New Mexico’s film production schedule has added another Hollywood film to the roster. Last week, it was announced that Sony Pictures’ comedy Did You Hear About the Morgans? starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant will be shot in New Mexico. The story concerns a high-powered New York couple who witness a murder and are enrolled in a witness-protection program in a small Montana town. (What with this and “In Plain Sight,” New Mexico is becoming the place for witness protection stories.) The fish-out-of-water comedy will film for about 25 days in and around Roy, Pecos, Santa Fe, Galisteo and Los Alamos from early May through June. The production plans to hire at least 75 local crew members, plus more than 1,000 extras (otherwise known as “background talent”). Good luck with that, guys. Did You Hear About the Morgans? is written and directed by Marc Lawrence (Music and Lyrics, Two Weeks Notice).